The WS_FTP Server Web Transfer Module, an add-on to WS_FTP Server products, enables users to transfer files between their computers and company servers using the convenience of a Web browser. As a result, employees and external business partners can connect to company networks simply and securely to share files, data, and other critical business information.

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Version 7.7 includes SCSV TLS downgrade protection. SCSV TLS downgrade protection helps maintain the highest possible connection security. This is a TLS extension supported in many current and near-release SSL libraries. It must be implemented on servers and it is recommended for clients.

Version 7.6.3 includes the option to delete old files and/or empty sub-folders after a specified number of days. You can configure cleanup settings at the folder level or at the host level. By default, folders will inherit the host-level default values unless they are overridden at the folder level. Host-level settings also apply to virtual folders and their descendants, but only if the virtual folder points to a location outside of the host's top folder, to avoid having multiple cleanup profiles affect a single folder. To control this setting, see the WS_FTP Server User Guide > Managing Folders and Files > Cleaning up old files and empty subfolders.

This release also includes the option to expire user accounts a specified number of days after user account creation or last logon. To control this setting, see the WS_FTP Server User Guide > Managing User Accounts > Creating user accounts. At the host level you can also delete expired user accounts after they have been expired a specified number of days. These settings only take effect when the host's authentication database type is WSFTP. To control this setting, see the WS_FTP Server Manager User Guide> Managing User Accounts > Setting user options for hosts > Configuring user settings.

A new service, 'Ipswitch Scheduler,' is installed and runs at 1:00 am every night. This service cleans up old files and sub-folders, as well as expired users. The cleanup process will never delete virtual folders themselves, only physical folders.

?When using a command line to create a user, administrators can now use the -o homefolder argument to set a user's home folder.

File transfers in WTM and Ad Hoc now display a progress bar indicating percentage of transfer completed. This feature is not available in IE9.

New in 7.6

Version 7.6 updates some of the critical software components used by the WS_FTP Server, including SSL libraries, supported databases, and supported operating systems.

OpenSSL libraries:
The OpenSSL version used by WS_FTP Server has been upgraded from 0.9.8t to 1.0.1c. This upgrade was done to resolve known security issues with the older version of OpenSSL, as well as to add improved functionality that is only available in newer versions of OpenSSL. More specifically, the new version supports the AES CTR ciphers, which allows administrators to disable CBC ciphers and use the AES CTR ciphers instead.

If you choose to disable the CBC ciphers, Ipswitch WS_FTP Professional versions before v12.4 will not be able to connect using SSH. Older versions of other FTP clients may also use CBC ciphers.

Supported databases:
PostgreSQL: The version of PostgreSQL used by WS_FTP Server has been upgraded from 8.3.12 to 8.3.20. This was done to resolve known security vulnerabilities with older versions of PostgreSQL.

Microsoft SQL Server:
WS_FTP Server now supports Microsoft SQL Server 2012, in addition to the 2008 version. Support for Microsoft SQL 2005 has been dropped.

Supported operating systems:
WS_FTP Server now supports Windows Server 2012, in addition to the 2008 R2 version. This version of WS_FTP Server drops support for Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP.

This release includes enhanced features for the Ad Hoc Transfer Plug-in for Outlook:

Ability to Customize the Ad Hoc Transfer Plug-in for Outlook

You can add your own brand or organization information to the user interface. You can change logos, icons, and text labels and you can also customize the associated help topics.

Improvements to the Silent Install Program

The silent install program has been enhanced to ease the deployment of the Ad Hoc Transfer Plug-in to large numbers of users, and also to support deployment via Group Policy. The changes include supporting installation on a PC for 'all users' rather than for a single user, and specification of default install properties.

The default install properties allow an administrator to configure the plug-in to connect to the WS_FTP server. To complete the configuration, each user will need to enter their WS_FTP password (and possibly their username). In most cases, after using the silent install or group policy, the username will be already configured on the end user's computer.

Also, when using the Group Policy to deploy the plug-in, the installation program is now run by the 'System' user, which fixes a defect in the previous version.

New in WS_FTP Server 7.5.1 (released March 2011)

Failover

Now you can deploy WS_FTP Server in a failover configuration to achieve higher availability. This works with either Microsoft Cluster Services (MSCS) or Microsoft Network Load Balancing (NLB).

If you are interested in adding failover capabilities to WS_FTP Server, please contact us directly for a competitive quote.

Multiple SSH keys per authenticated users

A single user may now authenticate with two, three, or more different SSH client keys. This allows interactive or automated processes that share a common username and sign-on from several different machines to enjoy the benefits of multi-factor authentication without the administrative hassle of key replication and coordination.

New in WS_FTP Server 7.5

New Ad-Hoc Transfer module

New module available for purchase separately with WS_FTP Server 7.5. The Ad-Hoc Transfer module enables you to quickly and easily share information through Microsoft Outlook or a web browser with anyone who has an email address. Information is sent quickly, securely and systems administrators can create and enforce sharing rules and also have complete visibility into all file sharing.

SSH Listener Options - Support for suppressing the SSH protocol name and version from being displayed on the login banner, preventing users from attempting malicious actions on the SSH server based on protocol name and version.

Email Address Added to User Properties - New user property for storing and using end users e-mail address. The email address can be used as a notification variable for dynamic insertion in notification messages.

Ability to lock into and control how the end user¿s home folder is displayed.

IP Whitelist for End User Authentication - Define specific IP addresses or subnets that can always connect to the server.

Web Transfer Module - Enable web transfer module access for end users via command line or as a user property.

Transfer files over SSH protocol, which is firewall-friendly (uses a single port), supports inline compression for optimised file transfers, and maintains data encryption on all connections all the time.

256-bit AES encryption

With leading 256-bit encryption over SSL and SSH (SFTP and SCP2) connections delivers unrivaled encryption strength.

SSH Key Management

SSH user keys can be imported and exported to and from Windows, Unix, and Linux systems.

Guarantee uncompromised delivery with file integrity checking up to SHA-512. Works optimally with WS_FTP Professional.

Force Secure Client-Server Connections

Administrators can require encrypted SSH or SSL client-server connections. Ability to force all clients to connect at SSH, SSL v3 or TLS 1.0 or higher.

SSL Certificate Support

The WS_FTP Server Trusted Authorities database now supports SSL certificate chains containing either the full chain or just the peer level certificate.

SSH Listener Option

Support for suppressing the SSH protocol name and version from being displayed on the login banner, preventing users from attempting malicious actions on the SSH server based on protocol name and version.

Stronger Password Policies

Include auto-expiring passwords and guidelines for strong password creation that require users to reset their password at any time on an ongoing basis.

Concealed Server Details

Hide logon banner to conceal server details.

Login Authentication Encryption

All client-server connections are encrypted when using SSH or SSL protocol. FTP connections are also encrypted between WS_FTP Server and WS_FTP Professional.

Digital Certificate Management

SSL certificates and SSH keys can be used for creating, importing, and exporting. Global SSL certificates and a Trusted Authorities database can be created on a per-host basis.

Mutual Authentication

Mutual authentication of server and connecting file transfer clients.

Exceed Compliance Regulations

Be compliant with government regulations such as HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, PCI DSS, Gramm-Leach-Bliley, BASEL II, and J-SOX.

Industry-Standard Algorithms

Industry-standard and FIPS-compliant algorithms for encryption, hashing, and signing.

Powerful Administrator Tools

External Authentication

Support for LDAP (Microsoft Active Directory, Novell eDirectory and OpenLDAP) authentication with failover.

Operating System Support

Support for 64-bit operating systems. WS_FTP Server can now be used with Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 (32-bit and 64-bit).

Email Address Added to User Properties

New user property for storing and using end users e-mail address. The email address can be used as a notification variable for dynamic insertion in notification messages.

New Display Options for User Home Folders

Ability to lock into and control how the end user's home folder is displayed.

IP Whitelist for End User Authentication

Define specific IP addresses or subnets that can always connect to the server.

Enhanced Date Formatting Support

The log viewer now supports nine different US and international display formats such as MM/DD/YY, DD-MM-YYYY and YYYY.MM.DD. Flexible configuration for setting the date format in the log viewer.

Web Transfer Module

Enable Web Transfer Module access for end users via command line or as a user property.

Configuration and Integration Consulting

Ability to scheduled two-hour remote session with a senior technician.

Licensing

New licensing technology simplifies procurement and provisioning & notifies you when software updates are available and enables maintenance-free upgrades.

High Availability

Improved Speed and Scalability

Faster FTP transfers and up to 50% better performance under heavy loads. Now scales to thousands of concurrent users.

Architecture for Clustering

Utilise existing High Availability infrastructure to group multiple servers for redundancy, and overcome scheduled and unscheduled server downtime.

Ensure version control by preventing different users from simultaneously uploading and downloading the same file. File lock also prevents users from downloading a file before it's fully uploaded to the server.

Separation of Duties

Create host administrators who can only manage specified host. Set default host- and user-level options once and have them automatically apply to all new users added to the host from that point on.

Permissions

Assign user or group permissions for uploading files, downloading files, deleting files, renaming files, and creating directories. Users can be locked into their home folder so they can¿t navigate outside of their home directory structure.

Usage limitations

Set limitations on storage space, file count, and bandwidth utilisation.

Automatic Restart

Automatically restart interrupted file transfers where they left off so users never lose valuable data because of a lost connection.

Customised Messages

Display a customised message to connecting clients when they logon to the server.

Ad Hoc Transfer module lets users send files securely to one or more individuals by sending an email via a Microsoft Outlook plugin (2013 and 2016) or their web browser. With this module, organizations can improve the way they manage file transfer interactions and apply encryption, access control and authentication, digital loss prevention, and content management.

Web Transfer module enables employees and external business partners to transfer files, data and other critical business information securely between their computers and the WS_FTP Server over HTTPS using a web browser.

WS_FTP Server Optional Feature

Failover option ensures high availability by deploying a second WS_FTP Server in a failover configuration. This is especially important in meeting service-level agreements or ensuring that other mission-critical processes are always up and running. With failover, organizations can ensure uninterrupted file transfer service for increased uptime, reliability, and performance.

WS_FTP Server

Supported Operating Systems

For a standalone WS_FTP Server installation:

Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard, 64-bit: English

Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter, 64-bit: English

Windows Server 2012 Standard, 64-bit: English

Windows Server 2012 Standard Datacenter, 64-bit: English

Windows Server 2008 Standard, SP2 or later, 32-bit: English and German

Windows Server 2008 Standard, SP2 or later, 64-bit: English

Windows Server 2008 Enterprise, SP2 or later, 64-bit: English

Windows Server 2008 Enterprise, SP2 or later, 32-bit: English and German

Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise, SP2 or later, 64-bit: English

Windows Server 2008 Standard, SP2 or later, 64-bit: English

For a WS_FTP Server failover cluster using Microsoft Clustering Services:

During installation, you can select Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) as your web server (instead of WS_FTP's Web Server). If you choose this option, you need to have Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 or later installed on your computer.

The minimum recommended hardware is the same as recommended for Windows Server 2008. (For more information, see the Windows Server information on Microsoft's web site.) If you are using a later version operating system, you should meet the hardware requirements for that system.

WS_FTP Server Server Manager is a part of WS_FTP Server and is installed on the same machine.

Installing WS_FTP Server on Windows Server 2008 or 2012

The WS_FTP Server installer automatically activates certain components in your Windows Server installation. This is necessary because after installation, Windows Server does not turn on non-core operating system components. However, before installing WS_FTP Server, you should be sure that these changes conform to your organization’s security policies.

When you install WS_FTP Server, the install activates the following 2008 Server roles: